Just Do It: The Palaro Act of 2013

So much talk was generated after the recent Palarong Pambansa, making the event one of those “LSS” type discussions, albeit on the negative side. In fact, a memo (dated May 3) from the Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del B. Pascua of the Department of Education quickly lined up a number of proposed changes for the annual event considered as the biggest sports spectacle for elementary and high school sports. The proposals are made “to make the next Palarong Pambansa more successful, meaningful and relevant to its desired objectives as set forth by law,” Pascua writes. While there won’t be enough time and discuss all proposals, one does stand out, and if implemented, might end up raising more questions than answers.

Pascua proposes that “Participants for the Palaro shall be composed of elementary and secondary athletes only from the public schools who have participated in local and regional meets, since private schools have their own PRISAA.”

And so we decided to review the objectives of R.A. 10588 or the “Palarong Pambansa Act of 2013.” “SEC. 3. Objectives. – The objectives of this Act are the following: (a) To institutionalize the Palarong Pambansa as the premier national sporting event of the country under the Department of Education (DepED) as a venue for talent identification, selection and recruitment of student athletes; (b) To improve the DepED’s national school sports program and give more prestige to the annual sports event by encouraging better participation of schools through incentives and rewards...”

If the DepEd goes on with making the Palaro an event only for public schools, are they aware that they might be going against the very objectives for which the Palaro was established? Being the “premier national sporting event” refers to being the showcase for the best of the best. As a venue for talent identification, there shouldn’t be any discrimination against the best athletes, regardless of their choice of schools. And how can the Palaro encourage better participation of schools if they have a selective approach and shut out or exclude certain schools? It just doesn’t seem right. The question to be asked again is that if this proposal is implemented, will it “make the next Palarong Pambansa more successful, meaningful and relevant to its desired objectives as set forth by law?” No sir!

Don’t get me wrong. I see where the good Undersecretary is coming from. The DepEd doesn’t like the fact that the private schools have dominated the Palaro every year due to their better, richer, stronger and more comprehensive programs. But disqualifying them is not the answer. The Palaro is recognized to be the venue where the best of the best face off. It’s the Olympics of elementary and high school sports. This is where the future world-class athletes are discovered. Let’s keep it that way. If we disqualify the private schools, we instantly deny the best athletes a venue where they can showcase their talents. From an Olympic gold medal sports dreamer’s perspective, why is the highest level of sports competition about to be downsized and watered down?

The public-school only approach will work only if the DepEd can also guaranty the staging of a national-level competition that will feature the cream of the crop of every sport. The mention of the PRISAA as an alternative smacks of a lack of research since the PRISAA is primarily for the collegiate level. The PRISAA high school event is still in its infancy stage and doesn’t have a real nationwide coverage; and there is no elementary level at the PRISAA. At this point, the country isn’t ready for this public school-only proposal with only a few sports having legitimate and true national championships for the elementary and high school levels. Basketball has the NBTC, SBP and Passerelle national championships recognized by the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas. Volleyball has the Shakey’s V-League, but this is only for high school (and college?). Archery has also been consistent with age group tournaments across the country in the Under 18 and 12 age groups. Ditto for taekwondo and few other events. So what will the other events do if they don’t have a national-level event?

It also has to be clarified that the public schools do in fact get a chance to compete in the Palaro set-up when they participate in the Unit, District, Division and Regional levels of the step-ladder. Let’s instead have the LGU’s strengthen the public school sports network by holding more competitions for them outside of the Palaro set-up. And this can be exclusively for public schools. Cebu has done something similar in the ongoing Governor’s Cup for basketball, the previous GUV Cup for volleyball and the many LGU-initiated sports events such as those in Medellin (seen thanks to Facebook); the Cong. Durano 5th District Cup for basketball, the Samsam Gullas Cup and many more.

I hate to say this but the new proposal smells like a smoke screen to hide the fact that the DepEd has not been able to implement a true-blue sports program for public schools that is complete with recruitment/talent identification, a training/practice program, a calendar of competitions, and the training of coaches and officials. At the events leading to the Palaro, it’s a common sight to see public schools fielding athletes with hardly any practice, doing this for compliance’s sake more than anything else. If a talent shines and stands out, that’s a bonus. When one loses, the athlete quits training and the “program” stops. There are a few exceptions but these are rare and few.

The irony of it all is that the Palaro Act of 2013 will meet its objectives if the DepEd carries out diligently all the elements of the law. After reading the law repeatedly, I realize that it is actually a very good law that provides the platform for producing world-class athletes, if implemented correctly. The law even cites the need to network with the Philippine Sports Commission, national sports associations and the local government units.

Do we need any big time changes to the Palaro? Nah! We just need to execute the Palaro Act. We just need to do it.

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Please pray for the eternal repose of Rev. Fr. Arsenio Nuñez, S.J., one of the pioneers of Sacred Heart School-Ateneo de Cebu. Wake is at the Pope Francis Servant Leadership Hall (Eduardo Aboitiz Building) at the school campus in Canduman.